Producers and cast of Batang Quiapo received this comment from an election lawyer
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal slammed an episode of the Kapamilya primetime action-drama series Batang Quiapo in which the “premature campaigning” was mentioned.
Previously, the director and lead star of the series, Coco Martin, expressed that they would be entering the world of politics. The story in BQ is now leading to the political issues. On March 5, the attention was focused on the character of the Mayor of Manila, played by Albert Martinez, who reprimanded the Vice Mayor, played by Chanda Romero, for allegedly doing “premature campaigning.”
This did not sit well with Macalintal and he encouraged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to educate the producers of the Kapamilya series, based on the article in The Philippine Star.
The election lawyer stressed that “there is no law prohibiting premature campaigning in the country.” COMELEC chairman George Garcia has already explained this.
Macalintal pointed out that there is no law prohibiting candidates from doing early campaigning before the official campaign period starts. He also said that COMELEC has no power to regulate political ads released before the scheduled start of the campaign period.
The election lawyer added that the misinformation can mislead the public and he cited that a viral It’s Showtime contestant who said that she was not knowledgeable about COMELEC.
With this, the COMELEC invited the viral contestant of the Kapamilya noontime show to have a guided tour at the agency. Macalintal said that the same invitation should be extended to the producers, actors, and scriptwriters of Batang Quiapo.
“For sure, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna would not like any of her officials to be depicted as one who is ignorant of election laws since most of the election-related scenes in that episode were actually shot at the premises of Manila City Hall,” Macalintal said.
Being a top-rated series, the election lawyer stressed that Batang Quiapo should ensure that it is portraying politically-related matters properly to avoid confusion, especially that the midterm election is just around the corner.